Leading by Convening - IDEA Partnership

1 Leading by Convening r Coa nd Is Aro the rk T the u les sue oge Wo Doing cin s Leading g by Convening Ensuring Relevant Participation A Blueprint for Authentic Engagement 2014. The IDEA Partnership National Association of State Directors of Special Education, Inc. 225 Reinekers Lane Suite 420. Alexandria, VA 22314. Phone: 703-519-3800. Fax: 703-519-3808. Recommended citation: Cashman, J., Linehan, P., Purcell, L., Rosser, M., Schultz, S., & Skalski, S. (2014). Leading by Convening : A blueprint for authentic engagement. Alexandria, VA: National Association of State Directors of Special Education.

2 The contents of this publication were developed under a grant from the Department of Education, #H326A080002. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Feder- al Government. Project Officer, Renee Bradley. Principal Investigator, Bill East. Warger, Eavy and Associates produced this publication. Contents Acknowledgments .. ii Section Four: Doing the Work Together .. 29. Doing the Work Together: Adaptive and Section One: Authentic Engagement .. 1 Human Elements .. 30. Why We Need a Blueprint on Authentic Doing the Work Together: Technical Stakeholder Engagement.

3 1 Elements .. 31. Authentic Engagement: The Partnership Way .. 2 Doing the Work Together: Moving Forward Together .. 33. Leadership Design: Top Down, Bottom Up or Both .. 4 Tools and Learning Activities .. 33. Leading in Place: Stories of Leadership Choices that Work .. 4 Section Five: Bringing It All Together .. 35. Leading by Convening .. 9 Bringing It All Together: Impact of Leading by Convening .. 37. Tools and Learning Activities .. 12. Tools and Learning Activities .. 38. Section Two: Coalescing Around Issues .. 13. Section Six: References .. 41. Coalescing Around Issues: Adaptive and Human Elements.

4 14. Appendix One: Contributors .. 43. Coalescing Around Issues: Technical Elements .. 15. Appendix Two: Coalescing Around Issues Tools Coalescing Around Issues: Operational and Learning Activities .. 51. Elements .. 18. Tools and Learning Activities .. 18 Appendix Three: Ensuring Relevant Participa- tion Tools and Learning Activities .. 69. Section Three: Ensuring Relevant Participation .. 21 Appendix Four: Doing the Work Together Tools and Learning Activities .. 79. Ensuring Relevant Participation: Adaptive and Human Elements .. 22. Appendix Five: Bringing It All Together Tools Ensuring Relevant Participation: Technical and Learning Activities.

5 87. Elements .. 24. Ensuring Relevant Participation: Moving Appendix Six: Meeting to Co-Create Tools and Forward Together .. 25 Learning Activities .. 95. Tools and Learning Activities .. 26. i 2014 IDEA Partnership Acknowledgments The IDEA Partnership is grateful to the incredible number of stakeholders who, through their commitment to improving outcomes for children and youth, have engaged in initiatives that have shaped this document. Their willingness to share, struggle and transform how we work together gives hope for wider system change. We are particularly grateful to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) at the Department of Education for its support of these efforts and for forging a new role for federal agencies as learning partners.

6 Since the 1997 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and through its subsequent reauthorization in 2004, policymakers, administrators, practitioners and families have come together to find common ground, reach out to others interested in the same issues and create positive joint solutions to identified problems. The diversity among the 50 national organizations, technical assistance providers and organizations and agencies at both the state and local level has enriched us all as we have grown to recognize that building human relationships is the key to working together for practice change.

7 Special appreciation goes to hundreds of decision makers, implementers and family members who participated both on- and off-site during the Development Meeting (December 2012), the Annual IDEA Partnership Meeting (January 2013) and the National Community of Practice on Transition Meeting (May 2013). This document is the result of the collective input, editing suggestions, interviews and stories from these individuals and evidences the power of engagement through Convening . The Core Writing Team included: Joanne Cashman Mariola Rosser Director, IDEA Partnership IDEA Partnership Staff Patrice Cunniff Linehan Sharon Schultz IDEA Partnership Staff National Education Association Luann Purcell Stacy Skalski Council of Administrators of Special Education National Association of School Psychologists ii 2014 IDEA Partnership Authentic Engagement r Coa nd Is Aro the rk T the u les sue oge Wo Doing cin s Leading Section One g by Convening Ensuring Relevant Participation Why We Need a Blueprint controversial at the time.

8 Several of the most prominent changes were: on Authentic Stakeholder Engagement Students with disabilities should have access to the general curriculum. Students with disabilities should participate in state- In 1999, the Department of Education Office of Special wide assessments. Education Programs (OSEP) launched a new strategy to bring general and special education into learning part- Funding formulas for special education should be nerships across families, practitioners, administrators and placement neutral. policymakers. The four linked partnerships were designed The connection between behavior and academics was to build the relationships necessary to accomplish the established and positive behavioral interventions and practice changes in the 1997 landmark amendments to the supports (PBIS) was introduced.

9 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The potential impact of the issues was significant. The These changes were called landmark changes because range of stakeholders was huge. Could these groups, that they broke new ground in the education of students did not hold the same perspective regarding the changes with disabilities. These changes are widely accepted and in the law, become allies? This was the challenge of the almost commonplace today; however, they were quite IDEA Partnership . 1 2014 IDEA Partnership Leading By Convening A Blueprint for Authentic Engagement In 15 years of working together, we have learned valuable This blueprint is the product of our journey.

10 In examining lessons about practice change though Partnership . One of our blueprint, we hope that you will find validation for your the most important was our ability to discover shared val- efforts at shared work and learn some new strategies that ues and interests. For years, our commonality was masked have worked for us. by different vocabulary and unique identities; we lacked the relationships needed to actively engage with enough frequency to gain trust. Authentic Engagement: The Partnership Way We became united in promoting a new kind of collabora- tion. Most people think that they are good collaborators, This document began as an effort to manualize the strat- but our shared experience told us that most collaboration egy developed through OSEP's investment in the IDEA.